She was lucky to have no house payment, or else she couldn’t have afforded the luxury of owning a home of her own. She was currently waiting for her paycheck to hit her bank in two days, so she could keep from having her three-year-old pickup truck repossessed.
“Hey y’all,” a breathless man began, practically vaulting into the plane. “I’m here. I’m here…”
“Oh goody,” the captain muttered loudly. “The other half of ‘the dynamic duo’ is finally here. Is my coffee ready yet?”
“Oh how fun -it’s you!” the man exclaimed – and Ashley fought back a snort of laughter. “So it’s gonna bethat kindof flight this morning, eh?”
“I’m coming with the coffee!” Ashley called out quickly. She reeeeally didn’t need to start her morning like this after the disaster with her cell phone. She met the other flight attendant’s smirk and patted him on the shoulder. “Hey, Adrian.”
“Hey yourself, Hot-Chicky-Mama – when are you gonna let somefineman put a ring on that finger?” he stressed the words – and she rolled her eyes.
“Are you volunteering? I’ll happily hand over all my bills and take a gaudy diamond ring any day of the week,” she retorted, calling the flamboyant man’s bluff. She liked working with Adrian because he worked hard, wasn’t afraid to say his piece, and made the flight enjoyable.
“Heck no, Chicka. You are much too high-strung for me. I like my women a little less in the air and a lot more grounded than you or I will ever be,” he sassed back, snapping his fingers. “Now, you get ‘Captain Crotchety’his coffee before I decide to ruin his day, too.”
“Oh boy,” she chuckled, moving quickly past him in an effort to separate the two of them.
Within no time, Adrian and Ashley were greeting the guests, welcoming them on board the plane, and putting on their ‘game faces.’ You couldn’t look nervous before a flight because then the customers were on edge. This was business, but there wasn’t any reason it couldn’t be enjoyable.
“Welcome aboard,” Ashley said, meeting the eyes of a blond man who seemed to tower in the entrance to the plane. His golden-brown eyes looked almost dull like he’d been verbally abused and kicked to the side like a wounded being, and she just wanted to wipe that look off his face. “Don’t be nervous,” she whispered, smiling at him. “The captain is a wonderful one, and you are lucky to have him.”
Adrian made a ‘harrumph’ under his voice and paused, looking between her and the handsome man. Then, to her horror, Adrian said in a loud, telling whisper, “There you go – get you some of that, girl. No ring – I repeat – no ring!”
She managed to keep her expression schooled as the gorgeous man looked past her at Adrian – then met her gaze again.
“Where’s seat 3B?” he said simply.
“She ain’t wearing a ring either, Stud-Muffin,” Adrian sang out nonchalantly – and Ashley shoved her leg backward, her heel catching her coworker in the shin, causing him to yelp once more. “And she’s a feisty one!”
“Business class is this way,” she said simply, holding out her hand politely to the right and keeping that ‘work-smile’ plastered on her face as her brow broke out in a sweat.I’m gonna maim Adrian for doing this to me, and now the next five hours are going to be uncomfortable for two reasons – the captain and this hunk.
As the handsome man stowed his bag on top and sat down in the plush seats, she saw him slide the panel closed, giving him privacy from the other guests and her. Yup, those panels were designed to effectively cut you off from the rest of the world, and the move was telling.
“Coffee?” the captain hollered from the flight deck. “Now!” And Adrian muttered under his breath, the same thing flying through her head at the rude man’s sharp words.
“Now Iknowhe ain’t talkin’ to me like that!”
“I’ll get it,” Ashley muttered and then glared at her coworker. “But for that stunt you just pulled with He-Man, I ought to make you get ‘Captain Crotchety’ his caffeine.”
“Gurrrrl– yes!” Adrian gasped emphatically, laying a hand on his chest. “Both of those names are so appropriate – why do you think I call him that to his face? Andmegettingthat foolcoffee would be a definitive, ‘not on your life,’ missy. Oh, and your phone just buzzed.”
“It did?”
“Yupper.”
“Shoot,” she hissed, knowing that once they pulled away from the gate, there would be no checking it until they landed. Her neighbors were supposed to go by the cabin to check on it for her last night or this morning, which made her wonder if something was wrong.
“Coffee, then the phone, girlfriend - and I’ll handle the announcements,” Adrian offered, smirking. “Are we even now? Can you blame me for trying? Y’all would make pretty, pretty babies.”
“Yes,” she whispered quickly. “But you’re the best person regardless of your weird quirks.”
“Oh, I know it…”
Ashley poured the coffee into a cup for the captain and quickly made her way to the flight deck, smoothing her expression once more.
Just a few more minutes…
Just a few more minutes…
